Weather across the nation: 5/4/13

Heavy rain with areas of flooding developed across the Tennessee Valley and Southern Appalachians on Saturday.

A strong low pressure system slowly moved eastward from the Mississippi River Valley and continued to pull warm and moist air northward from the Gulf of Mexico due to its counter-clockwise rotation. This system created a cold front that slowly moved into the Southeast and stretched northwestward into the Mid-Mississippi River Valley.

Heavy rainfall that lasted for many hours developed along this frontal boundary. Eastern Alabama, central and eastern Tennessee, central Kentucky, and Georgia saw the heaviest rainfall. A midday rainfall total of 3.02 inches was reported at Gadsden, Ala.

Flood warnings and advisories over the Tennessee Valley have extended into the Carolinas as this system slowly spread heavy rainfall eastward. While the rainfall was not as heavy for the Midwest, flooding remained a concern as the area has not yet recovered from the record flooding event from last week.

Elsewhere across the nation, a weak front lingered over the Upper Midwest, which kicked up a few light rain showers across the region.

To the west, a trough of low pressure and associated frontal boundary brought scattered rain and high elevation snow showers to the Intermountain West and Northern Rockies. Farther west, fire danger remained high for parts of California as high pressure created another warm day and low relative humidity and gusty winds.

ON THIS DATE....... A large tornado with a width of 500 yards swept through the town of Pleasant Hill, Mo., hitting the town's high school and grade school on this date in 1977. Due to superb tornado warnings and drills, no fatalities and only minor injuries occurred.